Pushing it??

[jennstron]

Firstly I can honestly say that couch to 5k has changed my life. I am due to start week 5 next week and I never thought I would say I love running (snails pace). My dilemma is, my sister-in-law who has been running for longer than me would like me to do race for life with her on the 22nd July. It's 5k, Would I be pushing it? I should be nearing the end of the program but would hate to disappoint myself. I know you can run,walk or jog but my pace is slow slow I do not want to demotivate myself.

What do you guys think?

[hollyO Graduate]

I would say go for it, but at your pace and not your sister-in-law's. My race for life is on 1st July and I have just finished the programme. Iam the tortoise to your snail! It will be great to have her support and encouragement but maybe have your podcast of W9 playing so that you know where you are. Apparently RFLs are very busy and you may well have to walk a bit when there is a lot of congestion. The great thing about this sort of race is that you most definitely wont be last and it sort of takes the pressure off!

I wish you well!

[KANdoit]

Go for it. You are "allowed" to walk .. its a fun run for all ...the point of it is to raise awareness of the charity. Its about doing it

I've just done wk5 ...but I've been doing weekly 5K park runs since March. "run" = walk + slow jog. The last one 1 did was 5 min warmup walk, then intervals 90s run 50s walk that got me around in just under 44 min.. The previous one i did with run 70/ walk 50. I have an app on my android phone that beeps at me telling me when to change.

Before that I just repeated week 2 twice.

Finishing the 5k in whatever time is a good achievement to start with. Then you have the fun of a series of PBs as C25k improves your fitness and you gradually reduce your time.

IF you came last (and I have in a field of 800+) what is the worst thing that could happen? Grit and determination gain much respect. I've no idea who won the marathon but I'll remember the woman with the false legs and I take my hat off to those who could stick at it for over 8 hours and finish.

ONE WORD OF WARNING: Go at your OWN pace so you finish rather than burning out keeping up with friends.

[andystev Graduate]

Agreed, you should be fine. Take it steady, keep your own pace and don't be dragged along by the crowd (usually my problem!). Be very concious of starting slowly and building to a pace you're comfortable at. Heading off too fast is one of the worst things you can do. It's easy enough to increase your pace later on, if you feel ok, but virtually impossible to recover from blowing up 'cos you set off like a greyhound!

[Hidden]

Definitely, go for it and just see what you can do - you can always walk for a bit if you need to. A lot of people do the Race for Life and walk the whole thing!